On Seas We Never Sailed
by DeadKings
Summary: Harry and Hermione tackle the clue to the Second Task together and inadvertently change the course of their destinies. AU, Hhr.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

'Mostly he just watches me study...it's a bit annoying really.'

Harry bit back another laugh. He had seen them a few times in the library and the longer Krum watched her, the easier it was the see her patience wear thinner as she battled with her desire to remain polite.

'I've seen a few times...'

'Oh Harry he's very nice really! You should have come over...his English isn't the best but you know about Quidditch, I'm sure you would...'

'Hermione it's fine, I'm just sorry Ron messed up the end of the ball for you two. I don't think I've ever seen you so...relaxed?'

There was the hint of a smile as Hermione stared down into the mist.

'It was fun...I don't much know if I would do it again but I'm glad I didn't just wait for Ron to come to me as a last resort...don't look at me like that, of course I knew he would ask me eventually. I just got tired of being second best.'

Harry watched the wind tug her hair free from its loose braid for half a moment before her words sunk in.

'You're not second best...you could never be second to any one Hermione, you're...you're brilliant!'

He couldn't decide if the tiny laugh she let out was good or bad but at least she wasn't shouting.

'No, I mean it...I suppose I just always thought that, being as smart as you are...you would know how important you were...I just didn't think...'

He didn't get a chance to finish as Hermione threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder, mumbling something about 'boys' and 'really no just be quiet' into his scarf.

Harry managed to free his arms enough to wrap them around her waist, pulling her into him as a comforting warmth spread through him.

'...Mione...you know you're my best friend, right? No matter what?'

He felt her shake her head and mumble Ron's name.

'How many times has he ditched me now? Ron's great...he really is but I never know what's going to set him off. I know I get it wrong with you sometimes but I always know you'll come back.'

A flash of yellow caught his eye and Harry looked up to see Cedric hovering at the edge of his vision, looking a little sheepish. Hermione glanced around and tried to wriggle out of Harry's grip but he tightened his arm around her and rested his chin on the top of her head.

'Sorry to...interrupt...I was just looking for you...to say...to say that the prefects bathroom is a uh...great place to think that clue over...uh...you know, mull it over in the water.'

He readjusted his bag on his shoulder and ran off before Harry could even begin to ask what he meant and Hermione was leaning back so she could talk properly.

'It wouldn't hurt to try...you're running out of...'

'Time, I know. You think if I don't crack it, I won't have to do the task? I was just thinking of refusing to do it at all...this whole 'life or death' thing is getting old.'

He reached up and tucked a lose hair behind Hermione's ear.

'Please be careful...magical contracts can be tricky to get out of. Participating might mean actually making an attempt to win or it might mean just showing up and sitting around with the judges...it might strip your magic if you back out or it might fine you or it could even kill you...I know the tasks could kill you as well but at least you have a fighting chance?'

Harry released her from his grip, running one hand down her arm so he could take her hand and lead her back towards the castle.

'I wouldn't have gotten though the first task without you...what do you say we stake out the prefects bathroom and see what happens?'

Sitting in a stuffy cupboard outside a lavatory in the middle of the night was not most people's idea of fun. Harry couldn't even call it his idea of fun and he had been know to attempt some pretty unusual things in his time at Hogwarts. Even Hermione, who everyone knew had an unusual idea of fun, was starting to question to point of the entire exercise.

' What is it with prefects and long baths? They have their own perfectly usable bathrooms in their houses. I can't see what could be so fancy about a secret bathroom in the middle of the school, miles away from...'

She suddenly blushed, sitting in such close proximity in the cramped space, Harry could practically feel the heat radiate off of her.

'...oh.'

Harry grinned as he realised what had gotten her flustered.

'I doubt it's anything as bad as that - broom closets are the more traditional venues.'

She sent him a mock-scathing look.

'And what would you know about broom closets Mr Potter?'

Harry shrugged, butting her shoulder with his.

'I've been getting pretty well acquainted with this one over the last hour...I swear that broom handle has tried it on with me at least three times now.'

Hermione giggled.

'I wonder if they've realised we're not in the common room yet...we were supposed to be meeting Ron and Ginny after dinner to work on the clue.'

Harry turned the golden egg over in his hands as his mind filled with images of Ginny. She was wonderful, she truly was but he couldn't get over the nagging suspicion that he was supposed to feel something for her. A little voice in the back of his mind had been telling him it was the expected thing for months.

'Hmm...I don't know about you but I don't think I really want to share a broom closet with Ron...'

She looked up at him, her features thoughtful.

'What about Ginny? Or even Cho? I heard you asked her to the ball.'

Harry openly laughed at that one.

'Ginny is an amazing person but...all I can think of when I see her is that little girl who put her elbow in the butter because the Boy Who Lived was sitting at her table. I know she's over it now but...first impressions and all and Cho...'

Cho was a harder one. She was, without a shadow of a doubt, Cedrics girlfriend and it was never going to happen. Realistically he had known that from the start.

'...she's the same but different...I don't think anything was going to realistically work out with someone I was too scared to talk to. A crush is just a crush I guess. To be honest, Hermione, you're the only constant I really have. Everybody else just drifts in and out depending on how much they want something from me.'

If Hermione was going to say anything else it was lost as the giggling group of prefects who had taken over the bathroom an hour ago went thundering past their hiding spot. A brief check of the marauders map told them the coast was clear and within moments they were hidden under the invisibility cloak and sneaking through the door.

The prefects bathroom was a sight to behold. White marble as far as the eye could see and the bathtub.

'I take it back, Harry, I think I know why they take so long...this is glorious!'

She headed straight for one of the many taps, turning on as many as she could reach and laughing brightly as the different coloured waters gushed out into the mammoth tub.

'So you're settled on being a prefect now?'

She looked almost scandalized.

'Harry! There are plenty other reasons for being Pre...you're joking aren't you...oh you are terrible.'

Harry's bright grin didn't falter, even when she flicked a handful of bright pink water at him, soaking the front of his shirt. He kicked off his socks and shoes, rolled up his trousers and settled at the edge of the pool, tossing the egg between his hands.

Hermione waited until the huge pull was almost overflowing before turning off the taps and joining him at the edge.

'What now?'

They both stared at the egg, almost willing an answer to appear on the steamy surface.

'Maybe it's supposed to be under the water? The screaming might be a defence against something? '

Harry nodded, leaning forwards until her could hold the egg under the water. Nervously, he twisted the clip to open it, bracing himself for the ear splitting scream.

Realisation dawned across Hermione's face as, instead of the horrendous screams, an ethereal melody drifted up towards them.

'Oh my...Mermaids! Their voices can't be heard properly out of the water...you'll need to stick your head under the water the hear it...'

Harry faltered, his hand pausing half way to tugging his shirt off. Thankfully, Hermione caught the movement and laughed.

'Just jump in, I'll hit you with a few drying charms later.'

Ten minutes later and several trips underwater to listen to the clue, Harry had slowly managed to relate the whole song to Hermione. The final time he surfaced, she was standing at the side with a fluffy white towel for him, the map sitting open beside a sink.

'We need to get out of here, dry yourself off and I'll sort the charms once we get away from Filch.'

It was difficult trying to manoeuvre the two of them along the dark corridors under the cloak, especially as Harry was very conscious of the way he must be dripping on the floor. Filch had been so close on their tail that they had to slip into the supply closet of an unused classroom until he was a full floor away.

Hermione quietly muttered the drying spells under her breath until Harry looked less like he had been thrown in the black lake and more like he'd been dragged through a hedge backwards.

'Your hair is always a mess, no one will notice much of a difference.'

They had expected the Spanish Inquisition from Ron when they returned to the common room but they hadn't been prepared for the openly shocked stares from the rest of their house until the realised what they must have looked like - hair mussed from the humid bathroom and out of breath from running from Filch. Ron must have been building up a good head of steam for some time because the ensuing rant was one of his loudest to date.

'Where the bloody hell have you two been!? Viktor Krum not good enough, you gonna go for the other champions as well? Cause I'd pay good money to see you and Fleur-'

They never got to hear what Ronald Weasley would pay good money to see because he found himself pressed against a wall with the tip of a wand digging into his throat.

'I dare you to finish that sentence...'

Ron tried to push Harry away but he stood firm.

'Come off it Harry, it's just a joke...you've seen the way she's been hanging off all the champions, she's got no self respect! I guess that mental Skeeter woman was right...I mean...'

There was a real fire in Harry's eyes when he drove his fist into Ron's face.

That was the moment that all hell broke loose. It felt like a thousand hands were pulling Harry back towards the portrait hole, away from where Ron was struggling against the Twins.

'Harry please stop!'

It was Hermione's voice that broke through the blood pounding in his ears and Harry shook himself back to reality to find Neville struggling to hold him back whilst Hermione put herself between him and the rest of the room.

'You can't expect me to let him talk about you like that!'

She sighed quietly, visibly upset by Ron's words but staunchly refusing to let it show.

'I don't expect you to get yourself expelled because of him either. He's just as bad as Malfoy sometimes and he isn't worth it. Please, Harry...we have work to do.'

She picked up the golden egg from where he had let it fall to the floor and pressed it into his hands before looking up to Neville who was trying to slip unnoticed away from the limelight.

'We might need your help Neville...could you and Harry grab any books you have on water plants? I'm going to ask Professor McGonogall if she'll extent our curfew.'

Twenty minutes in the library with Neville and they had already started to pull a plan together for the second task.

Breathing underwater of an hour wasn't the problem - a simple bubblehead charm would more than suffice but Harry had admitted that he wasn't the strongest or fastest swimmer and Neville pointed out that the lack of oxygen was hardly going to be his only challenge.

Hermione refused to let him anywhere near the lake without a Plan B for if the charm failed or he was attacked.

When Neville pulled a book of water plants he'd gotten from Professor Moody across the table and flicked to the page of gillyweed, Hermione lit up.

'Of course! But it's too late to send out an Owl Order for some now and we'd have to steal it from Professor Snape...oh but if he seen you taking it before you got into the water you'd probably be penalised. What if...'


	2. Chapter 2

**A quick note before we begin: I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to read/favourite the first chapter of this within the fist couple of hours of it being posted. It's been such a long time since I was in the fanfic game (as you can see if you look at some of the absolute crap I was posting in 2010) and such a positive response really made my (otherwise exceptionally stressful) week. I've got about 6 chapters written for this so far and I'm hoping that I'll be able to upload something every couple of days.**

**But enough of that, I'll leave you all to Chapter 2.**

Chapter 2

When the day of the next task swung around and Harry found himself standing at the side of the lake on a freezing February morning feeling a lot more confident than he had expected.

They had turned in early the night before and Harry still hadn't been able to find Hermione in the seething crowds. Neville was hovering at his side, assuring him that she was probably caught up in the stands somewhere.

Still uncertain of what he was supposed to be looking for in the Black Lake, Harry quietly cast the bubble Head Charm on himself as Fleur and Cedric did the same. Seconds later and the half-shark Krum was the first into the water and shooting into the depths.

As soon as he could no longer make out the daylight far above him, Harry pulled the Gillyweed from a pouch in his swimsuit, cancelled his charm and, in one gulp, forced himself to swallow the vile plant, all the while hoping beyond hope that it worked. A few seconds of searing pain and suddenly the water was far more comfortable and the webbing on his hands and feet propelled him further into the depths.

Despite catching sight of the odd Grindylow and something that looked suspiciously like a gigantic tentacle, Harry didn't encounter a single problem until he reach the Merpeople village.

Tied to a large slab were four people. A burst of outrage at the idiocy of the tournament flared through him before Harry's eyes focused in on Hermione and he frantically swam towards her, aiming a cutting curse at the seaweed-like rope that bound her to the slab. He was swimming up and along to catch her and pull her back out of the lake before the Merpeople had a chance to try and stop him.

Harry was the first champion to break the surface, despite waiting below the surface for a full fifteen minutes until the Gillyweed wore off.

As soon as the cold air hit her face, Hermione woke with a start and started flailing around, trying to support herself in the water. Harry had to hook one arm around her waist to calm her before he could help her into the little boat that started speeding towards them from the shore.

The closer they came to the judges table, Harry began to make out a grave look on Dumbledore's face. Moments behind him, Cedric had surfaced, Cho clinging to him for dear life and Fleur was only minutes behind them looking distinctly worse for wear with a small blonde girl in tow.

There was no sign of Krum or his hostage.

Once he got ashore and Madame Pomfrey had finished plying them with hot chocolate and blankets, Harry was whisked away towards the judges table.

'Harry...where is Mr Weasley?'

Harry could only offer them a blank look in return.

'How would I know? I haven't seen him weeks...he's probably sulking in the dorm if he isn't here.'

Dumbledore looked more shocked than he had in all of the years Harry ha known him.

'You have returned with the wrong hostage and, as such, we will have to penalise you...We can only hope now that Mr Krum does the honourable thing and brings your best friend to the surface.'

Harry was close to breaking point.

'Best friend!? We haven't spoken since he as good as called Hermione a slag in the common room! I'm sorry sir but your information is outdated. There is no way on earth that he's the thing I would miss most in this world. Hermione is. She always was.'

He turned on his heel and stormed back to the medical bay where Neville had managed to bring them two extra Pepper Up Potions.

'You're never going to believe this...not only did they kidnap you and throw you at the bottom of the Black Lake in February, Dumbledore picked Ron as my hostage. I'm being penalised for bringing back to wrong person. For all the interest that old coot takes in my life, he could at least keep tabs on who my friends are.'

Neville handed him the potion and Harry downed it in one, the sensation of smoke pouring out of his ears went a long way to cooling his temper.

'This whole competition is a joke. Fleur was almost killed by Grindylows until Cedric managed to beat them back - what would have happened to her little sister?'

'You'd have gone back for her.'

Neville pointed it out as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

'We have enough Gillyweed left and you have that whole 'hero complex' and you'd have jumped in and saved her because no one here actually trusts the judges to bring them up safely.'

Harry had to concede to his point but he was already preparing to staunchly refuse any requests to help Ron when Ginny Weasley barrelled into the tent and into his arms.

'Oh Harry thank Merlin! I was so worried! When I couldn't find Ron I thought you hadn't made it back but...'

She let go of him long enough to wildly look around the tent.

'...where is Ron? Is he okay?'

Hermione narrowed her eyes at the little red head.

'How did you know Ron was Harry's hostage? No one but the judges were meant to know...we only found out just now.'

She at least had the decency to look sheepish.

'They needed their guardians permission...mum let it slip in her last letter...'

There was a painful pang of guilt over how Mrs Weasley would take the news of Harry not rescuing her son.

'Well you better hope that Krum will-'

The klaxon sounded before he could finish his sentence. Krum had returned.

Viktor was dragging a befuddled looking Ron into one of the boats and was shouting in Bulgarian at his headmaster who was trying to explain the situation. From what Hermione was hurriedly whispering to Harry and Neville, he was less frustrated by his hostage and more concerned that there were humans down there in the first place.

'I can't make out much more than that...I'm not all that good with languages but adding it together with what we know about him, I'm willing to bet that Karkaroff is going to have his head chewed off tonight for letting anyone else get in harm's way.'

Neville and Harry hummed in agreement. They had only spoken to Krum on a few short occasions since the Yule ball but he had always talked about how worried he was that someone might be seriously hurt during the competition. They could hear Fleur ranting away in rapid French to a woman who looked like her mother and it wasn't difficult to guess she must have been saying something along the same lines as Krum.

The Judges were debating with Ludo Bagman, arguing over penalties and points. Dumbledore was relaying messages to and from the Mermen at the edge of the Lake, clearly trying to discern what had happened during the task.

In the end, Cedric was awarded first place, Fleur second, Viktor third and Harry was coming in last despite his spectacular performance with the dragon and being the fastest to rescue a hostage.

He had gotten hold of Viktor in the library that afternoon and apologised to him for messing everything up.

'It is not a problem, Harry. I vould haff been confused whoever was left behind. It is clear to everyone with eyes that Hermony is very special to you and your red haired friend is not as likable either. I think, even if you were talking to him, he vould not haff been a sensible choice.'

Fleur, who was sitting in the library with a few of her friends, sheltering from the harsh Scottish weather, turned round and added her thoughts to the matter.

'I 'ave to agree. Ze whole set of them are a little hard to like. Apart from ze twins. Perhaps zey get better as zey get older?'

Harry had initially thought of Percy but Neville beat him to it. The more time their housemate spent with them, the more confident he seemed to grow.

'I've only met his oldest brothers a couple of times cause of Gran...Charlie works with the dragons that were over for the first task but Bill was pretty awesome. He's a Curse Breaker with Gringotts...he speaks something like six different languages I think?'

Fleurs eyes lit up and she quietly excused herself from her friends to join them at their table.

'Zis is something zat your bank has? I was aware 'zat Gringotts 'ad some more interesting departments but I 'ave always been interested in curse breaking...'

The stories of Neville Longbottom chatting excitedly to a half-veela would be the cause of much astonished laughter for several days and the cause of many more dropped jaws as Fleur gave him a friendly wave in passing.

Harry and Hermione were happy enough to just listen and fetch Neville books as he tried to explain some of the finer intricacies of the Goblin nation, having never heard anything more than what Binns had tried to teach them. Of course Hermione had put in some extra study but Neville's grandmother was apparently a stickler for good manners no matter who or what you were dealing with.

This was how Cedric had found them just before dinner when he slipped into the library to ask the other champions their opinions on what had transpired during the task.

'I know we're supposed to be in a competition and all but I was hoping to get your opinion on something.'

Harry gestured for him to pull up a chair.

'Please tell me you were all as disgusted with the second task as I was?'

His questions was met with nods, Hermione was especially enthusiastic in her agreement.

'Given that we, or at least I was never asked my permission and I can guarantee my parents wouldn't have been asked either otherwise they would have written.'

Cedric hummed in agreement.

'Cho didn't know what was happening until we surfaced...Fleur, you said you had the same problem?'

Fleur nodded. They had all heard the rumours of how Madame Maxime got an earful from the champions furious mother.

'What I am curious about is 'ow zis Ronald was deemed important enough to 'ave 'is parents permission sought on ze matter...'

A thought jumped into Harry's mind but it seemed like a shot in the dark.

'Cedric...what do Cho's parents do?'

Cedrics brows knitted together in confusion for barely a moment before realisation dawned across his features.

'They're both lawyers...and her mum's a muggle but her dad's from a squib branch of a...shit...'

Harry had to dodge Hermione's flying hands as she caught onto what they were suggesting.

'Oh that is low! Fleur...please don't take any offence but, according to British laws, both you and your mother are classed as half-breeds because of your veela heritage. Myself and Cho are both Muggleborn, meaning that our magical guardians are the ones who look after our welfare in the Wizarding world. The only pureblood hostage was Ron...legally they had to ask permission...but with us, Professor Dumbledore was able to sign off on it without us ever knowing and I would bet that, as foreign students, he has ended up with the same powers over you, despite your Headmistress being here with you.'

Harry's hands were shaking as he took off his glasses and ran his hands through his hair, trying to put his thoughts in order.

'Professor Dumbledore could have gotten them all killed. This goes beyond a competition now...we can't let him get away with this...none of them can get away with it.'

Cedric was chewing his lip whilst Krum looked less than surprised.

'I knew that things were just as bad here when it came to blood status but I did not think it would be displayed so publicly.'

Neville was the one with the answer.

'There's way too many loopholes for Purebloods but one bonus is that we have to know all of the laws backwards before we start school. My Gran is such a sucker for tradition that I bet she can find us something. She's also on the Board of Governors for the school so she could at least look into it...give me a week to owl her and see what she says?'

Hermione was beaming at him.

'If we're all agreed?' Her eyes scanned the room and met small nods of approval from everyone. 'Good. We'll meet back here at six next week.'


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So I've come to accept that updates are going to be hectic as anything for this one but I intend to keep it to at least one chapter each week. I've just started a new job this week so my head is a bit scattered at the moment between that and university. The plus side is that I'm off over Christmas and I do so love a good excuse to avoid my social obligations. I've currently got about 3/4 or chapter 7 written so there's still a few weeks to go before I start getting desperate. **

**Hope you enjoy, I can't really spend the time replying to reviews and things but they are very much appreciated :) **

Chapter 3

As it turns out, Neville's solution just threw up so many more questions.

'She said I'm _what_!?'

Neville flinched at the volume of Harry's voice and Madame Pince shot him her dirtiest look from the front desk.

'Sorry...sorry...but a head of an Ancient and Noble House? Go and pull the other one Nev?'

Hermione was pouring over the documents and family trees in the middle of the table the group had commandeered for their meeting with interest.

'He's right Harry. If this is to be believed then the Potter line stretches all the way back to Gryffindor himself...not to mention where all of the intermarrying got you...an argument could be made for Ravenclaw through her brother's line, look here, and you're even vaguely related to Slytherin through the Blacks...your grandmother, Dorea, was the great Aunt of...oh! Malfoy's mum!'

Thankfully, everyone assumed that Harry's shocked look was caused by the thought of being related to Malfoy. Hermione's pointed look, however, told him that she'd filed something important away for later.

'...If Neville really is right then we need to get in touch with the Goblins right away...they could be our only true solution to a rapidly growing problem. There's no way Dumbledore doesn't know about this so he's deliberately kept it from you.'

Harry scoffed.

'He probably thinks I'm not 'ready' for the information...let's just look at this uh...hypothetically...for a minute. If I really am what you say I am then what can we do with it?'

Neville scanned the letter that Madame Longbottom had sent him along with the books and family trees.

'The Goblins would know all the technicalities but Gran says that you could at least demand an investigation into how the task was set up. I know it doesn't sound like much but there's every chance there's other things that they don't want discovered...like how the cup accepted your name? The DMLE have to respond to the heir of a pureblood house...never mind and Ancient and Noble one.'

Hermione was furiously scribbling down questions onto a scrap of parchment.

'I think we need a look at the tournament rules...but we can't let the organisers know that's what we're doing or they'll try and block us at every turn. I say we start a petition to have the tournament investigated...keep them busy chasing that and placating every student we can send them so that we can sort out the legal side.'

Cedric had kept his own council for most of the meeting, watching the by-play between his peers.

'I can handle the petition and stir up a fuss with the 'Puffs if Fleur or Viktor could take a look into the rules and the magical contract? If you can get me a rough copy then I can send it to the Changs? They're spitting mad at what happened to Cho but Dumbledore has been blocking every attempt at contact.'

Hermione jotted names down beside tasks as the other champions agreed to their roles.

'Good then...if you can get that out as soon as possible then we'll start making some discreet enquiries to Gringotts.'

Gringotts, as it turned out, did not do things by half and, in hindsight, Harry reasoned that he should have known something like this was coming.

Neville had helped him and Hermione draft a letter to the Goblins, asking for advice on a 'delicate matter' and they had replied within a day offering an interview for the next Hogsmeade weekend.

Harry had, on Hermione's suggestion, sent Sirius a quick note explaining that they might not be able to meet him this weekend and promising to explain once they got back.

It wasn't until they were standing outside the small Hogsmeade branch of the bank that Harry began to get nervous. They had been informed that the door of the branch acted in a similar manner to the floo system and they would step through into the headquarters in Diagon Alley.

'What if this is all useless?'

Hermione rolled her eyes at him, knowing full well that he was nervous about anything that was described as 'somewhat like floo travel' as opposed to their upcoming meeting.

'Then we can at least cross something off of our very full to-do list. Besides, the Goblins are some of the best lawyers in the world...if we build the right bridges here then we might be able to get them to look at the tournament contract if Cho's parents can't find anything. Now come on.'

She didn't wait for him to reply, instead grabbing him by the elbow and pushing through the door before he could stall any more.

'There. That wasn't so bad.'

Harry let out the breath he had been holding and had to agree with her. It had been nothing like floo travel at all and much more like stepping through a particularly drafty door.

'How come the floo system can't be like that!? I mean it's like Wizards just like making themselves sick.'

There was a deep, gravelly chuckle from a doorway to their left.

'Indeed, Mr Potter. Unfortunately, it would cost nothing short of a small fortune to hire the Runemaster to install the portal and those who _could_ afford it don't want to hire a Goblin. My name is Ragnok, I have just taken over the management of your accounts.'

Hermione gave a small gasp before giving a small bow and elbowing Harry in the ribs to do the same. He was about to protest until he hear her accompanying words.

'Director Ragnok, it's an honour for you to meet us. I'm Hermione Granger...Harry asked me to come along.'

Harry was damned glad that he had as well - Neville had gone over the finer points of etiquette when working with the Goblins and Harry was certain he had probably fallen asleep during this bit.

'Thank you, Miss Granger. If you would both like to follow me to my office, we have rather a lot to talk about and I'm sure you would prefer your trip to go unnoticed.'

They followed him through a corridor that had been hewn from solid, black rock and polished until it sparkled in the torchlight. It was a far cry from the white marble of the banks public face. the office they were ushered into was luxurious by any standards. Cut from the same black stone, it was furnished with a large oak desk and several empty picture frames. In the centre of the room, sitting atop a royal blue rug, were two black leather sofas. This is where the Director indicated they should sit.

'I feel I must preface this meeting with a sincere apology. Gringotts has known about your status for many years now but, legally, we were unable to do anything about it until you contacted us. As far as we are concerned, those terms have been met and accepted by the vaults in question. The first thing you must know is that your parents will was sealed on the first of November 1981. That seal has now been removed.'

He waved his had at the coffee table in between the two large sofas and a thin file appeared, bearing the Gringotts crest in one corner. Harry reached forwards and, as his fingers brushed the paper, the file sprung open to the first page.

'You may, of course, take this with you along with the other files you receive today so that you can study them at your leisure. However, due to our time constraints we will have to keep this meeting to the key points. You should never have been placed with your Aunt and Uncle - the will lists five other options for you. You have inherited everything, bar a trust fund that your parents set up for one Remus Lupin. However, as the will was sealed, this could not be released until today.'

Harry looked up at Ragnok with a bright smile.

'Professor Lupin!?'

'Indeed. He was named in the will as your second guardian even though he would be unable to officially care for you due to his condition. As it stands, with your Godfather's incarceration, he is your current magical guardian.'

Hermione's let out a breath in understanding. When both Harry and Ragnok looked at her questioningly, she just shook her head, drawing her to-do list from her bag and scoring out a few items whilst adding more.

'Don't mind me...I'll add it all up at the end.'

Ragnok took this as his cue to continue, he waved his hand at the table once more and another two, much thicker, folders appeared on the desk.

'The full inventory and accounts of House Potter and House Gryffindor. Whilst one is considered a continuation of the other, there are some items and holdings that must legally remain in the name of Gryffindor for traditions sake though you will still mange these under the title of Lord Potter. I understand there is a lot to take in but we are running short on time already. As you are competing in a tournament reserved for those of age, we have submitted emancipation paperwork on your behalf but this could take several weeks to be confirmed. The best option is for you to take all of this away and study it in your own time - I have included instructions on how to contact me directly via a secure line for when you have questions...is there anything else that we can help you with before you need to return?'

They arrived back in Hogsmeade in plenty of time and feeling slightly shell-shocked. Harry kept playing with the heavy silver ring that had appeared on his right hand as he skimmed the will that was now tucked safely in his bag. It was a simple silver signet ring, embossed with a lion rampant - the Potter crest.

His bag was also stuffed with a curious array of jewellery and brooches that each carried different protective enchantments, along with instructions for each. He had his parents wedding rings tied on a cord around his neck and tucked under his t-shirt. He knew it was silly and that it wasn't going to bring them back but there was a small part of his that felt closer to them than ever.

Hermione was letting him get his bearings before nudging him gently down the street.

'We've got to get all of this back to the castle and somewhere safe...is that...'

Harry followed her gaze down a small alley. At the far end, he cold just about make out two eyes and a lot of black fur.

'Snuffles!'

Harry was off like a shot, squeezing down the alley and almost bowling the dog over. Hermione was about to reprimand him until she caught up with the excitable tangle of limbs at the end of the alley. Harry had thrown his arms around Padfoot's neck and was clinging on for dear life whilst Padfoot thumped his tail against the ground.

'Sorry Snuffles...it's been along day...cave?'

It took a few minutes to get Harry back on his feet as they took the familiar route up to where Sirius had been hiding. Sirius was only human for a matter of seconds before he found himself with an armful of godson.

'As much as it's nice to see you two...what's going on? Where's Ron?'

They had agreed that they would tell Sirius as soon as they had the chance so, whilst Harry fumbled in his bag, Hermione tried to explain their meeting as best as she could.

'Ronald isn't speaking to us just now, I can't speak for Harry but he has more than burned his bridges with me...'

She tucked a stray hair behind her ear, settling carefully onto the stone floor.

'We've just been to Gringotts...found out a lot of very interesting and, honestly, very shocking things. They've released Harry's inheritance to him and are working on getting him emancipated so we have more legal options for dealing with this fiasco of a tournament.'

With a triumphant shout, Harry found to box he'd been looking for.

'I asked last minute about protection spells and Ragnok pulled this out of my vault. The instructions say this is like a super-powered disillusionment chart...it should keep you completely hidden if any aurors are around.'

It was a very elegant silver band with runes carefully carved around the inside. Harry all but forced it into Sirius' hands and dove back into his bag to pull out his parent's will.

'And did you know that, after you, I was supposed to go to Professor Lupin, Neville's Parents, Professor McGonogall or even someone called Andromeda Tonks? But someone sealed the will and buried it in a box at the Ministry?'

Sirius, who was not ashamed to admit that his eyes were watering at the sight of Lily's neat, precise handwriting, along side James' pureblood cursive, read over the will with an look of dawning realisation.

'I knew about Moony...we all knew he would never get full custody over you but it meant that he could still have a hand in your upbringing because he would always be your magical guardian...'

Hermione had swapped her parchment for a muggle notebook and was writing up a new list.

'That means Dumbledore would have needed to seek his permission for you to compete in the tournament and a minor. Even if the Goblins can't get you emancipated then it's still a good legal option for us...I can hardly see Professor Lupin willingly agreeing to it if he was asked.'

Sirius looked up from the will.

'Whatever you two are up to, I wouldn't advise dragging the law into it if Moony's involved...not for another month or two at the least. He's managed to get himself a job running Pre-Hogwarts classes and, as much as I know it wont last, he could do without the media attention on his condition...what...why are you looking at me like that?'

Harry had a bright smile on his face as he handed Sirius the page that outlined the contents of the trust vault.

'My parents set this up for him. Ragnok said that, with the interest included, it's worth at least ten thousand Galleons, possibly more. There's a load of rare books as well...he'll get the letter once all fo this goes public...he'll never have to worry about keeping a job again.'

Sirius had to sit down at that.

'You...Ragnok? Merlins pants kid, you really don't do things by half.'

The will was set aside for the remainder of their visit as Sirius regaled them with tales of Remus deftly trying to avoid being given money by Harry's parents.

Almost too soon, however, it was time to make the trip back up to the school. Padfoot accompanied them as far as the village and Harry's reluctance to leave his Godfather behind meant they were some of the last students to pass Filches' checkpoint.

'What's in the bag?'

Harry sighed and presented his bag for inspection. Wasting no time, Filch dove into it, pulling out Harry's carefully wrapped parcels and prodding at them suspiciously.

'What're these?'

Harry snatched one of the boxes from his hand and opened it to reveal a delicate bracelet, inlaid with tiny sapphires and diamonds.

'It's a bracelet, okay? I have loads of birthdays and I can't get anywhere over the summer to buy stuff for them. There's a couple of watches and a necklace as well.'

Filch huffed and hummed as he dropped the backed back into Harry's bag.

'Can't see how a little whelk like you got hold of the money. Stole 'em did you?'

'Contrary to popular belief, I have a pretty impressive bank account. I'd just rather spend it on my friends than on myself.'

It wasn't exactly a lie and Filtch couldn't do much more than let them pass. Harry was just thankful Hermione had shrunk all of the documents and tucked them into her jumper before leaving Sirius' cave.

Hermione, however, was shaking like a leaf by the time they reached the entrance hall and kept batting away all of Harry's questions until they had made it to the first floor. Harry had half though she was crying before he had spotted the bright smile she was fighting.

'I'm sorry Harry, I know it's silly but you would have never spoken to him like that a month ago. It's just nice seeing you so relaxed about what you have now.'

'So, what you're really saying, is that all of this rule breaking has gone to your head and you've cracked?'

She pretended to huff as she straightened out her skirt and pushed off of the wall she had half collapsed against.

'You'll regret that, Potter. I've been working on some pretty interesting spells whilst we wait to see what the third task is and you had better hope I don't try some of them out on you.'

All four champions had agree that, just in case they were set against each other in the final task, they would research as many non-lethal ways of incapacitating each other as possible. Hermione, despite Harry's protests that it was his job, had told him to focus on their legal battle whilst she was in her element running riot in the library.

'I pity the witch or wizard that crosses you in the next few weeks...or ever, to be honest. Come on, I want to dump this stuff in my trunk before dinner. I don't trust Filtch not to say something to Snape.'

The trip up to the common room was uneventful and Harry left Hermione there with Neville as he continued to the dormitory. Cedric had suggested adding protective charms to his trunk, especially if he was worried about Ron, and Harry had gone one step further and bought a completely new one, complete with security charms he had never even heard of and built to look exactly like his old one. He carefully removed all of the boxes he had taken from his vault and piled them into one of the many locked compartments. Hermione still had the folders, they had agreed that it was one thing for Ron to find jewellery in Harry's trunk but the files themselves were far too sensitive and, as nosy as Hermione's dorm mates were, they wouldn't think anything of a few more sheets of paper.

Dinner was a quiet affair and the rest of the week passed largely without incident for the castle. Harry, however, was having a hard time focusing on his classes as his mind kept wandering to the folders they had collected from Gringotts. Harry was now the proud owner of six separate manor houses, of varying size, as well as a handful of smaller properties dotted around the globe. He had large, and very profitable, shares in some of the largest businesses in Diagon Alley after a particularly thrifty ancestor had offered massive start-up grants for a thirty percent return. As more and more investors had bought shares in the businesses, it looked like Harry had been left with a controlling share in half of the Alley. On top of that, he held three seats on the Wizengamot and was eligible to nominate anyone he chose to fill them until he was of age. How he was supposed to continue studying things like Divination when he knew he would be set for life was beyond him.

Ron, for his part, avoided Harry wherever he could and contented himself with sending scathing glares across the room whenever Harry spoke. Neville took to sitting with Harry in any classes they shared and, with the exception of potions, proved to be a lot more studious than anyone had given him credit for. Hermione tried her best to keep them both on track but, under Snape's nose, it wasn't the easiest of tasks.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry this one took a little longer to get up but I've really had to knuckle down with my uni work this past week and time ran away from me. **

Chapter 4

As March gave way to April and the Easter holidays approached, Harry finally snapped on the last Friday of term.

'Shouldn't they have sent a clue by now!?'

He had almost managed to forget the approaching third task, that was until Cedric's petition finally mare it off the ground and was intercepted in the Great Hall by a thoroughly livid Snape.

Hermione, who was engrossed in the newest issue of the Prophet, patted his arm lightly.

'Don't worry about it. We're prepared for almost every eventuality and we're meeting everyone tonight to see what they've managed to achieve.'

They had received a discreet note from Krum, asking them to meet in the Library that night. It was the first solid breakthrough they'd had since Harry had returned from Gringotts. He was still receiving bi-weekly letters from the Goblins, keeping him up to date on how the emancipation case was going. They were trying to keep it as quiet as possible so progress was slow. Harry was reaching for the scrambled eggs when Hermione let out an indignant cry.

'That absolute _cow!'_

Looking over her shoulder, along with most of the students surrounding them, Harry found a torn page from _Witch Weekly_ slotted into her copy of the _Prophet_.

'Apparently, I'm secretly brewing love potions to keep you, Viktor and Cedric hanging off of my every word!'

Harry had barely scanned the article before he noticed a glaring flaw.

'Oh come on Hermione, anyone calling Parkinson "pretty and vivacious" is hardly capable of hard-hitting journalism.'

Neville, however was chewing his lip nervously.

'It's not just the article, Harry. This article is as good as...'

They never got to find out what it was as good as because, at that moment, about thirty owls flooded into the hall, all of them heading straight for Hermione. Most of the letters contained hate mail, including a particularly nasty howler from Mrs Weasley, but one of them sprung open on contact, sending a wave of undiluted bubotuber pus over Hermione. Despite the painful, swelling boils on her hands she manage to stand slowly and make an attempt at a dignified exit as half the hall managed to catch a glimpse of the article.

Neville and harry exchanged a look before Neville handed Harry his bag.

'Go after her. I'll handle McGonagall.'

Harry disentangled himself from the bench, almost tripping over his robes, and ran out of the hall as Professor McGonagall made her way across to the table. He waved his hand dismissively as she shouted on him but didn't stop until he had reached the hospital wing. Pushing the door open quietly, he spotted Hermione in the furthest corner. Madame Pomfrey was applying a thick, black cream to Hermione's hands before wrapping them in bandages.

'Madame Pomfrey?'

The healer looked up as he entered, looking as though she was about to admonish him before thinking again.

'Mr Potter. Can I assume you can tell me exactly what happened? Because I know for a fact the house elves are not in the habit of serving undiluted bubotuber pus at breakfast.'

'There was an article in Witch Weekly...'

Madame Pomfrey huffed in derision.

'...and Hermione got a lot of hate male from it...that's how the pus got on her hands...because people thought she was using love potions on me, Cedric and Krum.'

Her eyes widened and Harry finally discovered why Neville was so nervous.

'Mr Potter, you realise that is tantamount to an accusation of rape? It is imperative that you inform Professor McGonagall of this immediately. If you would wait there for two moments I will fetch the other two gentlemen.'

It was at that moment that the infirmary doors swung open and Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout entered, followed by Neville, Cedric and Viktor.

'That's quite alright Poppy, we're all here. Mr Longbottom has appraised us of the situation and Professor Karkaroff is on his way. We all know that Miss Granger is hardly the type to resort to love potions but these are serious claims and we need to take action.'

When Karkaroff arrived, it was in a whirlwind rage at the thought of a muggle-born girl clouding the mind of his prized student. Madame Pomfrey was the one to silence him with a loud cough and a sharp look as she ran her wand over each of the champions in turn.

'Mr Diggory has a mild painkiller in his system and nothing more, the other two are completely clear. If you're not happy with my assessment then we can always call the poisons ward at St Mungos but, frankly, that's a waste of their time.'

Satisfied with the results, Professor Sprout took a signed letter from Madame Pomfrey away to Dumbledore so that it could be sent to the DMLE before any more came of the situation. Cedric managed to catch her just before she left.

'Professor Sprout! If you're going to the Headmaster then, on behalf of my fellow champions, I would like to present you with this petition...it's the one the Professor Snape has been trying to confiscate. We accept that we might not be able to stop the competition but we at least demand a full investigation of the events surrounding the selection of the Champions and the selection of the hostages in the second task.'

Not bothering to hide her knowing smirk, Professor Sprout took the petition with a small nod and continued on her way. Karkaroff escorted Krum back to the Durmstrang ship for his morning lessons though the Bulgarian champion was reluctant to follow his headmaster. McGonagall, however, was not to be so easily deterred.

'Now. This has been a difficult morning already and I think it is safe to say that it is only going to get worse. Our first step is to ascertain whether any of you would like to press charges. It is important to note that it was not just Ms Skeeter involved but a number of your classmates and that this is no longer a simple case of libel. If you would like me to contact the DMLE I would be happy to do so.'

Hermione started to shake her head but was cut off when Harry dropped a hand onto her shoulder.

'Professor...am I right in thinking that, even if Hermione _did_ press charges, she wouldn't really get anywhere because pretty much everyone involved in this is a pureblood?'

McGonogall was thrown off for a moment but quickly recovered herself.

'You're right, Mr Potter. Unfortunately...'

Harry couldn't stop himself from butting. in.

'Sorry, but what would happen if _theoretically_ the charges came from the head of an Ancient ad Noble House?'

McGonagall's eyes narrowed and she peered over her glasses at him. Neville's eyes were popping out of his head.

'Harry...that would mean going public before the Goblins were finished with the...the thing. The thing that they were...'

Neville wilted under McGonogall's gaze.

'I strongly advise one of you tells me exactly what is going on and exactly what you are suggesting.'

The trio shared a glance before spilling everything they had discovered. They left out anything to do with the trip to Gringotts, instead telling her that everything had been communicated by letter.

By the time they were finished, McGonagall had conjured a chair and collapsed into it. Madame Pomfrey brought her a small whisky.

'This news could turn more than just the tournament on it's head. In the furore after your parents deaths I never even considered the title. Your father was never able to hold an official ceremony for his ascension since they were already hiding by the time your grandparents passed away. This makes everything extremely complicated and I thank you for your honesty.'

She paused, staring into the infirmary fire for a moment as she considered something.

'I think it best than neither of you attend classes today. I have already suggested the same to Mr Diggory. If so-called adults are willing to attack Miss Granger then I am not willing to test the resolve of some hormonal teenagers. I will still contact the DMLE on your behalf but it might be best to delay pressing charges until this is resolved. Am I right in assuming this petition is an attempt to distract from your real motives?'

The silence that met her question was the only answer she needed.

'Very well. I shall not mention this to the headmaster but if this endangers the wellbeing of any of my students at any point then I am duty-bound to inform him. I would also politely ask that you keep me informed of updates as they come in, any legal changes in status need to be reflected on your school records or it may invalidate exam results. Mr Longbottom, I understand that you may need to inform your Grandmother of what has occurred, I will give you until after break to compose a letter and then I expect you to be in class.'

Neville watched Professor McGonagall leave with a look of bewilderment.

'Did she just let me off of History? _Yes!_'

Hermione, who had kept uncharacteristically quiet throughout the entire encounter, finally spoke up.

'I think she was more suggesting you write to your grandmother...who's on the school board...and has close ties to the government...and would benefit from knowing more than you've been able to tell her before. I mean, we really left her in the dark after asking about Harry's legal status.'

Both of them could recognise that this was her way of trying to ignore what had happened and no one was willing to push her further. Instead they decided to head back to the common room to make a start on the first of many letters they would need to write.

The first was a three page letter to Madame Longbottom, written by all three of them, thanking her for her help and informing her of the events of the last month. The second was a short note to Gringotts to let them know that they needed to go public and that the emancipation needed to happen more or less immediately and the third letter was a brief note to Sirius, written after Neville had left for Charms.

_P, _

_HR attacked, all okay though. Please don't worry about anything you hear. Give you something to think about for next time - we need codenames._

_H_

Harry could only hope it was enough to get the message across without being obvious to anyone who might intercept it.

'He'll be okay, you know he wont do anything to get himself caught - not if it means losing you. Would you be able to get the bottle of Murtlap Essence and cotton wool from my bag...pour it into the glass of water and help me get out of these bandages, Madame Pomfrey said they could come off after an hour.'

Carefully, Harry unwrapped the bandaged on her hands to find that the thick black paste had all but vanished although the skin still looked angry and red. Following Hermione's instructions, he tore off balls of cotton wool, dipped them in the Murtlap Essence and gently soaked her hands. Almost on contact, her skin began to pale to it's usual colour and Hermione visibly relaxed.

'That was agony. The pain I could deal with but it was so _itchy_.'

Harry smirked as she flexed her hands, clearly glad to have full use of them.

'You know, most girls would have had a fit if that was them.'

Hermione shrugged, starting to clean up the coffee table.

'Yes, well...most girls aren't used to it.'

Harry paused in his attempts to help her, he was certain he'd heard her correctly but something didn't add up.

'You're _used_ to have Bubotuber Pus thrown at you?'

The look she sent him was one she usually reserved for people who asked stupid questions in class.

'Obviously. No, I'm used to people laughing at me, waiting for me to show a crack so they can weasel their way in and make fun of me. It's always been that way, people aren't always as nice as you, y'know.'

Harry had guessed that she'd had something of a lonely childhood from little things she had said over the years but he had always assumed it was self-imposed.

'I'm sorry 'Mione...I never knew it was so bad for you...'

She shushed him with a roll of her eyes.

'Honestly, you're making it seem like I was beaten black and blue by a bunch of childhood delinquents. I'm a bossy know-it-all, being made fun of is an occupational hazard...and don't give me that look - I know how people see me, okay? It's not like I sit and wallow in self pity, okay?'

Harry tried searching her eyes for any hint of hurt but faltered at the sheer, raw honesty he found instead. When Harry said nothing, she leaned over to him and took his hand.

'You don't need to save everyone, Harry. Some of us managed to get there on our own.'

Harry was quite certain that time had stopped as he took in the sight of her - for all she was smiling, there were the last vestiges of long-dried tears in her eyes and yet she still seemed brighter than usual. Hermione, in her turn, found herself drowning in the worry behind Harry's gaze.

They sat like that for a moment until the spell was broken by two sixth year girls running down the dormitory stairs and out of the portrait hole. They paid no attention to the two friends sitting quietly in front of the fire.

'Go and grab your notebook. We can use today to sort through the questions in it.'

Hermione let go of Harry's hand and left him on the couch to retrieve the notebook from under her bed.

**A/N: I've always been fascinated with how other authors have handled the whole 'love potion' thing because I always saw it as a much more serious accusation that the people around me. As it stands, I'll probably try to explore different kinds of love potions later on in the story to sort-of clarify why everyone was so concerned over it. **

**I also wanted to avoid the age-old scenario of Harry and Hermione falling head-over-heels in love in the first chapter. I wanted to see if I could try for something a little more natural.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Good gods, I'm not much of a fan of long-winded authors notes but there were some excellent points and questions brought up in the reviews of the last chapter so I wanted to clear a few of them up before I got started. **

**1. Quotation marks: Standard British practice is to use single quotation marks ('…' as opposed to "…") and that's the way I've been taught since primary school. As it stands, if it's good enough for my university tutors then it's probably going to be good enough for .**

**2. Neville leaving for Charms when they'd been given the day off: Harry and Hermione were given the whole day off because they were directly involved in the incident. Neville was given (with a hefty 'wink wink nudge nudge') the morning off if he felt his grandmother would benefit from knowing what had happened. McGonagall said that she expected him back in class after break. **

**3. Voldemort would have known if the Potters were related to Godric: That's 100% true because Voldemort is a clever, if homicidal, cookie and I'm certainly not saying that he doesn't know. However - for the purposes of **_**this**_** fic, the Potters are a historically powerful family in their own right and killing them would have likely turned the majority of Purebloods against his cause in the early days, even if the Potters were considered blood traitors. And besides, an AU is an AU for a reason. Things aren't always going to match up to the canon.**

**4. Harry and Hermione are progressing too slowly/"You were a teenager, right?": I was, in fact, a teenager very similar to Harry and Hermione. I also spend most of my week working with teenagers the ages of 11 and 18 (oh look, Hogwarts age!) and kids like Harry and Hermione aren't always going to appreciate their ~real feelings~ properly until something more than a brief 'moment' acts as a catalyst. Harry especially has grown up not **_**really**_** seeing how a healthy, loving relationship works so he's far more likely to confuse romantic feelings with a platonic, sibling-like love until he's in the right emotional frame of mind to see his feelings for what they really are. **

**5. Has harry been charmed/poisoned by the Weasleys?: No, not yet. The subtle pressure has been there, behind the scenes, but there's been absolutely no foul play from the Weasleys other than Ron having his head up his arse...so far.**

**One last note: Luna and some other friends (who weren't really friends in the books) will be appearing over the course of the story, I just didn't want to kick everything off with a group of about 50 different people running around! I've had trouble just keeping up with the new trio and the champions as it is!**

Chapter 5

_'__Tournament_

_1. Why did the cup accept Harry's name?_

_- Entered under a fictional fourth School._

_2. What are the consequences of breaking the magical contract?_

_3. Why restart a deadly competition?_

_4. What is the Third Task?_

_5. What are our current legal options?_

_Harry_

_1. Why was his will sealed and by who?_

_2. If Prof. Lupin is his magical guardian, why wasn't he asked permission for Harry to compete?'_

Over the course of the afternoon, Harry and Hermione had managed to whittle the notebook full of questions and side notes into a short list of the most important points they needed answers for. When they met with Neville after dinner, he managed to answer one of their most pressing questions.

'The only person who can seal a will is a Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and even then, they need _huge_ amounts of evidence to do it.'

Hermione shared a knowing look with the pair as they hurried out of the Great hall and away from prying eyes and ears. No one had attempted to attack Hermione yet but she was drawing her fair share of scathing looks.

'Why does that not surprise me in the least? There has to be a good reason for it though, I know he probably won't tell us outright if we ask but it might be worth a try once it all goes public?'

Harry didn't make any attempt to hide his sigh.

'I wish it didn't have to go public. This whole thing just seems like one big joke from the universe right now.'

If Harry was really honest with himself, he was becoming quite protective of his little secret. Whenever he heard someone talking about how they were looking forward to the summer holidays, a little bubble of happiness grew inside him. He was going to spend his summer picking out somewhere new to live and he had no intentions of telling the Dursleys. Having to drive all the way out to Kings Cross for no reason was hardly the punishment he felt they deserved but it satisfied a small piece of his soul and it would do for now.

Whenever he caught a moment alone, he pulled out the dream journal that Trelawney had given them the previous year. In it, he kept a detailed list of all the places he would be able to stay and the pros and cons of each. It had become his favourite thing to do at night when Ron's snoring kept him awake.

He was shaken from his daydream by Neville clapping a hand on his shoulder.

'It's not so bad...the political stuff is the worst of it and you can nominate a proxy to handle that until you're ready, even once you've been emancipated. That's technically what Gran does for me...though we're not quite as important as the Potters.'

Their walk to the library was largely uneventful though Madame Pince had to be thoroughly convinced that they weren't trying to sneak food in. Viktor and Fleur were already waiting on them in a separate study room, Cedric had promised to join them once he had finished a Transfiguration essay.

Spread across the table between the other two champions was a greying paperback book with haggard-looking corners. Inside it were the rules of the Triwizard Tournament.

'Eet is impressive. I know.'

Fleur's deadpan tone mimicked what the three new arrivals had been thinking.

'This is vhat took us so long. Ve haff spent all of this time looking for a giant tome full of ancient rules and, in the end, it vos nothing more than a small book tucked away in a corner.'

Hermione was flicking through the book quickly and carefully whilst Viktor explained how it had taken them nearly two months to find such a meagre specimen.

'...Vhen the tournament vos started in the thirteenth century, it had a rule book that vos supposedly a meter thick. They cut out rules over the years that they decided did not apply anymore and now ve are left vith this.'

Fleur directed Hermione to a page close to the start and tapped on one rule in particular.

'Eet says 'ere zat, although anyone who enters their name into ze goblet 'as bound themselves to the Tournament should zey be picked, eet is possible for ze judges to re-draw from any school within ze first twelve hours if zere is a serious problem. Although all of ze judges must agree...our problem is zat we don't know if you being entered under a fourth school affects zis.'

Hermione nodded in agreement.

'If Harry's name was accepted by confunding the Goblet in some way, if could have thrown off _hundreds_ of charms...the whole device is probably a wreck by now. If it was redrawn without the proper care there's a chance it could blow up in their faces...literally. If Dumbledore knew about those risks, he probably thought a re-draw was more dangerous than letting Harry compete.'

That went some way to answering any questions they had about why nobody had tried to void the selection. Hermione was growing frustrated as she tried to find any mention of what would happen if they refused to compete.

'I mean, it's presumably something they agree on for each competition...maybe depending on the laws of each country? But surely there must be _something_.'

Fleur shook her head sadly.

'Zere isn't even a paper copy of zis contract zat we 'ave supposedly entered into. Nothing zat we could send off to Cedric's lawyer friends.'

Harry, however, wasn't going to be defeated.

'Okay...so the rule book is a dead end. We should probably still hold onto it until we know what the third task is though, just in case we find something useful. Cedric officially submitted the petition to Professor Sprout this morning and she's taken it away to Dumbledore. He wasn't at dinner so I can only guess he's got it, Neville sent a spare copy to his Gran just in case the original vanishes. That _should_ get us an investigation of the second task or at least a couple of answers...'

Hermione added a big tick beside the word '_Petition_' on her list.

'...After Hermione was sent all that hate mail, we told McGonagall everything. We now think we've got to deal with another criminal case on top of this tournament stuff so we're going to go public with what we learned from Madame Longbottom...'

Harry was interrupted by Cedric running through the door.

'Sorry I'm late! Dumbledore stopped me on my way here to say that the petition was wonderfully written and that he hoped it hadn't been too much of a distraction and he said that he had some interesting books on garden charms...'

Hermione groaned in defeat.

'He clearly knows that we're up to something. Did he wink at you? I knew it! Oh what I wouldn't _give_ to know how he does that.'

The mood in their study room was decidedly glum as the reality of Dumbledore knowing settled onto them.

'He is just as famous outside of Britain. I vould not like to put gold on our chances of tricking him. Even if he does not know anything specific, he is far too good to outmanoeuvre.'

Harry nodded along with the rest of them at Krum's words, staring blankly at a spot above Hermione's head.

'To hell with it. Why don't we just ask him? I know he doesn't have to tell us but...'

'Vot haff we really got to lose?'

Pinning down Albus Dumbledore was not an easy task. Despite almost always being in the school for meals, he seemed to disappear into thin air as soon as he was finished. Professor McGonagall had been as helpful as she could be but Dumbledore had a schedule to rival Hermione's from the previous year.

There was good news to be found, however, when Harry came down to breakfast on the first morning of the Easter holidays. Harry had found it nigh on impossible to sleep past dawn and had decided to saunter down to the Great Hall to see if he could catch Dumbledore before he left the castle. As he settled himself at an almost empty Gryffindor table, Hedwig swooped into the hall carrying a dark purple envelope with the Gringotts crest stamped into a seal that looked more solid silver than wax. With it was a smaller, plain parchment envelope with the words '_Open First_' written in a neat hand that Harry had come to recognise as belonging to Director Ragnok.

He tucked the purple letter into his robes, nudged his plateful of bacon towards Hedwig and tore eagerly into the letter.

_Mr Potter, _

_Further to my last letter regarding the progress of you emancipation, I am delighted to inform you that there has finally been a breakthrough. As of midnight tonight, you are officially an adult in the eyes of the law and I have included a list of things that you ought to be aware of immediately. _

_Even though we were able to approach this in a discreet manner, the information has been officially logged within the Ministry of Magic and it is only a matter of time before it becomes public knowledge - you would do well to prepare yourself for the backlash it will cause. _

_You will be expected to host an official ascension ceremony within the Wizengamot to fully assume your seats and to allow you to nominate proxies to fill those seats should you wish. This will take several months to coordinate and will likely take place sometime in early August. Please be aware that some parties may attempt to block your ascension, we will deal with these threats through Gringotts unless they affect you directly. _

_If it is at all possible, I would like to arrange a meeting for a week before the final task, we are currently putting together a full inventory of your family vaults and have found a few pieces of interest. Miss Granger is, of course, welcome to attend any and all meetings. _

_One final warning, your second letter is deceptively small - it contains your official emancipation letter, as well as a great many important documents. Think of it as your 'Lords Manual' if you will._

_If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to ask._

_Best of luck, _

_Director Ragnok_

Harry folded the letter carefully after separating the emancipation papers and smoothing them out onto the table. He resolved to open the other one at a later time - the last thing he needed was to be engrossed in a letter and to have Dumbledore pass him by.

He dropped a few more pieces of bacon onto his plate for Hedwig before stealing the plate that was set out to his left and piling up on food to compensate for what he guessed was going to be a long day. Chewing carefully, he scanned through the list the Ragnok had sent.

He was officially an adult - that much was easy. He could do magic outside of school, so long as it was within the law, and live wherever he wanted. He was allowed to buy in alcohol if he was hosting a formal party but he still had to wait until he was seventeen to buy it for personal use and he was still obliged to continue his schooling until at least OWL level thought he could chose to hire private tutors if it suited his needs better.

The really interesting part was when it can down to his legal rights. According to this list, he could demand an investigation into any criminal case, old or new, so long as it was deemed personally relevant to him or a ward under his protection. Despite all of their work on having the Tournament investigated, Harry's mind went directly to a scruffy dog lying in a cold cave.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Before I begin, I would like to apologise for the delay in getting this one up. There was a huge backlog of letters to go out at work so I've been working 10+ hour days, 5 days a week since just after new year on top of trying to finish a 1500 word essay for tomorrow. **

**I've managed to finish the essay and I'm about to put the finishing touches on Chapter 8. **

**This story will be taking a brief hiatus during May so that I can revise for my exam on the 3****rd**** of June. After that, I should be able to post much more frequently.**

Chapter 6

Remus Lupin had been enjoying a leisurely breakfast, trying his best to ignore the growing aches in his bones from the pull of the nearing full moon, when a Gringotts owl soared through his window to present him with a plain letter from the bank.

With he untied the letter, thanking the owl, before returning to his tea as he scanned the page.

_Mr Lupin,_

_My client has asked that I send you this letter so that you, as he worded it, do not "collapse and die from the shock"_ when the official mail reaches you.

_Allow me to first extend my sincere apologies on behalf of Gringotts. It is highly unusual for a case such as this to go over a decade without being properly resolved but it was only recent events that have allowed us to fully process this account. _

_Upon the death of James and Lily Potter, and the subsequent incarceration of Sirius Black, the Magical Guardianship of one Harry James Potter fell to you as per the will of Lord and Lady Potter. Unfortunately, this will has been sealed since the 1st of November 1981 and this fact was not discovered until early this year when the current Lord Potter ascended to his title._

_The entry of Lord Potter into a competition reserved for those of age, whilst still under your official guardianship and without your knowledge or permission, has prompted my client to force through an emancipation order. Should you feel it necessary, you have a legal window of four weeks to appeal this order, if you accept it then no action is required._

_Furthermore, the late Lord and Lady Potter bequeathed to you a small trust vault and a great number of books which may now be released to you. Your statement will arrive shortly, once we have finished calculating the final value._

_May fortune find you, _

_Sincerely,_

_Director Ragnok,_

_Potter Account Manager_

As Remus was a dignified soul, he managed to stop himself from spraying tea across the table. However, he was also a Marauder at heart and couldn't quite stop the string of curses that filtered out of his mouth as things clicked into place.

It was almost impossible to have magical guardianship over someone and not know it. Even if Dumbledore, and he very much knew it was Dumbledore's doing, had sealed the will, his magic should have recognized his position after the several hours he spent on the train with Harry the previous year.

With everything that the headmaster had done for him over the years, Remus had always tried to look past the small manipulations that he knew Dumbledore was prone to in order to try and see the bigger picture. It had been Dumbledore who had ordered Remus not to look for Harry when he was a baby, not even allowing him to check on those thrice damned relatives from a distance. Dumbledore had sworn blind that the wards around the property wouldn't recognize Remus as a friend, only seeing the werewolf as a threat.

Rage bubbled up inside Remus and he stood up, knocking his chair flying, summoned his careworn cloak from the front door and turned sharply on his heel, vanishing noisily from the small kitchen.

Only being able to apparate to the gates of the castle was simultaneously a blessing and a curse. The long storm up the drive only allowed his anger to fester, though it did allow him time to filter some of the less school-friendly hexes from his mind.

The entrance hall was quiet when he reached it, even though it was nearing lunch time. There were no students to be seen but his sensitive nose managed to pick up the faint smell of humans. He strode confidently across the hall, slipping behind a tapestry and through a gap than would have done him serious damage if he had been in the habit of eating a little more. A long, narrow flight of stairs and another precarious gap later and he found himself standing a few short feet from the gargoyle that guarded the Headmasters office.

That was where he almost faltered. Dumbledore was a busy man and there was no guarantee he was in any position to receive visitors, if he was in at all.

Another voice piped up at the back of his mind, reminding him that they wouldn't be in this mess if Dumbledore didn't keep himself so busy organizing other people's lives.

Steeling himself, Remus marched up to the gargoyle with his mind set.

'I need to speak with the Headmaster.'

'Password.'

'If you would just inform him that I'm waiting.'

'Password.'

'It's really very important.'

'Password.'

'Look, I'm trying to be polite but...'

'Password.'

'Listen to me you inert lump of rock. You can either let me past or I will tear you from that plinth with my bear hands.'

He was speaking in a deadly whisper, almost hissing at the gargoyle by the time he registered there was somebody standing behind him.

'Good heavens Remus, do you really need to be so harsh to the poor beast?'

Remus flushed a deep scarlet as Professor McGonagall arched an eyebrow at him.

'Afternoon Minerva...I...well...there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for this.'

He was reminded, rather embarrassingly, of his school days.

'I'm certain there is, I take it that Albus has been a nuisance again?'

That was Minerva - as loyal as they came but completely aware of Dumbledore's bad habits. Remus handed her the letter, not quite sure if he would be able to tell her about it and keep calm.

'Ah. Well you're in luck - he should be back just after lunch. Why don't you join me at the staff table, there's rather a lot you've missed this year.'

When Harry, Hermione and Neville sauntered in for lunch, they scanned the staff table for any sign of Dumbledore and instead found Lupin chatting amiably with McGonagall. Harry swore quietly, with all the frenzy around the tournament, he had completely forgotten to write to Remus.

'Professor!'

Remus smiled brightly at the approaching trio, a lot of his anger ebbing away as he waited on Dumbledore.

'It's just Remus now, Harry...or should that be My Lord?'

The look he leveled at Harry was stern, but certainly not unkind.

'Sorry...I meant to write, honestly, but we've been a little busy trying to destabilize a Ministry competition.'

Remus' eyes widened of a fraction of a second. If it wasn't for the sheepish grin and the bright green eyes staring up at him, he would have sworn he was talking to James.

'You are terrifyingly like your father when you say things like that...and it's quite alright. If I'd known, you would never have ended up with those miserable relative of yours. That's why I'm here, I'd like a few answers from our esteemed Chief Warlock.'

Hermione looked delighted, passing Remus the small notebook that contained all of their questions.

'Fantastic! Do you maybe think you could find out anything he knows about this? It's all above board, Professor McGonagall...but it saves us trying to pin the Headmaster down as well when he's clearly so very busy.'

Minerva suppressed a smile as Remus' eyebrows vanished into his hairline upon reading the questions that the trio wanted answers for.

'They've been rather busy since February...and they haven't allowed their class work to slip an inch. Mr Longbottom here is improving at some rate. If I recall correctly, it took young Frank until his OWLS to really come into his own.'

Seeing the change in subject for what it was, Remus smiled and nodded as Neville turned an impressive shade of red.

'Yes...it took him a while to get there but once he did...Frank Longbottom was formidable, just like his mother. Never quite caught up to Alice though, I once saw her put a hole through three houses with one hex after Death Eaters interrupted her wedding dress fitting.'

Neville was blinking up at them.

'R-really? Gran never told me that...'

Harry and Hermione glanced at each other, both realizing that they had never even bothered to ask what had happened to Neville's parents. Neville looked like he wanted to cry, despite the nervous smile on his face. Remus allowed himself a small bark of laughter.

'Then I better not tell you about the time your grandmother chased a terrified group of fifth years through Diagon Alley, in the early seventies, brandishing what I believe was a small sword.'

For McGonagall, the smile on Neville's face alone made Remus' trip worthwhile but, sensing a barrage of questions in their near future, dismissed the trio.

'Mr Potter, I do believe I overheard mention of a top secret meeting out on the Quidditch pitch. It would be a crying shame if it was interrupted.'

Harry was about to question her when Hermione grabbed his arm and dragged him away, Neville bade them farewell and ran to catch the pair up.

'Are you allowed to do that?'

Minerva gave an imperceptible shrug.

'Those two will be off to find the other three champions before they do anything else. And besides, they've not started growing the hedges yet...they'll get bored of waiting and I'm certain young Harry and Mr Krum will find something to do with an empty Quidditch pitch. Ah! What fortuitous timing. I rather believe that Albus just passed by the doors.'

The ensuing shouting match quickly became the stuff of Hogwarts legend. Whilst most could only guess at what their mild-mannered ex-Defence professor was tearing strips off of Dumbledore over, Harry sat in the common room that night with a smug look on his face.

'It just feels like having a huge weight lifted off my shoulders...and it's not just the emancipation…I mean...have you ever seen Lupin so angry?'

Hermione nodded in agreement as she checked over the final draft of her potions essay. She was half-curled on the floor at his feet, basking in the warmth of the fire.

'I know what you mean, there was no way we would have been able to ask Dumbledore half of those questions...although I'm not really convinced that their sole motivation for this tournament was to foster a spirit of friendship between us and the other two schools.'

'They got it though...I don't think I'll be able to walk away from this without seeing Fleur and Krum as friends, especially if Fleur goes for that Gringotts apprenticeship when she finishes...what worries me is that even Dumbledore doesn't know what happens if we break the contract. If it was losing your life or your magic, like you thought, then there's more sense in telling us that hiding it.'

Hermione hummed, placing the essay to one side and stretching out, he back cracking as she arched towards the fire.

'Yes, I was thinking about that. A lot of magical contracts carry those kind of penalties but it would cause an absolute uproar if a pureblood heir lost their life or their magic because of it. I was thinking that...maybe the contract _forces_ you to compete. Sort of a 'come hell or high water' thing...'

'Which we've already covered in the first two tasks alone...'

She smiled.

'...which, yes, you seem to have encountered early on...but do you understand? I think that, even if you went all the way back to London, the inherent magic from the Goblet would find a way to force you to compete.'

Harry thought about this for a moment.

'I haven't been seriously injured this year. At all...and remember earlier? The bludgers wouldn't come near anyone but you or Neville. You think the tournament is protecting us?'

Hermione cleared her homework into her bag and settled herself on the large armchair, tucking herself into the far corner. Harry was certain the chairs must have been designed for someone at least twice the size of Hagrid if it was possible to comfortably fit two fourth years into them.

'Less protecting you...I think it's more ensuring you're able to compete and I _still_ can't believe you talked me into that..._me? Flying?_ I could hardly open my eyes! Who plays catch with bludgers!?'

She had been marvelous, Harry thought. She may have white-knuckled her way through the entire game, had almost unseated herself after accidentally scoring a goal and promptly left to be sick once they had landed but, for a girl who had never flown anything other than a Hippogriff, she had been wonderful.

'Oh c'mon! You won us that game! You were brilliant.'

She butted his shoulder with her head, cheeks tinted with a light blush.

'Don't be silly. It was a perfectly enjoyable day but I don't think I'll be going anywhere near that Firebolt of yours. That school broom was fast enough.'

He hated to tell her that Ron's old Shooting Star was probably faster. Regardless, the memory was one he would cherish for a long time - even if there was a twinge of sadness when he had seen Ron storm away from the changing rooms, broom in hand.

'Yeah well, I bet I could get you up on a broom over the summer...somewhere safe...maybe even sandy? Like Hawaii?'

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, her eyes flicking to his book full of pros and cons that was sitting on the coffee table in front of them.

'What are you trying to say?'

'I was thinking that, if I manage to survive this year, we could try and organise a small group holiday somewhere. Me, you, your parents, Neville and his gran...all of the properties abroad are exempt from the restriction to underage magic if it doesn't breach the Statute of Secrecy...your parents would get to see you perform magic...'

Hermione's mouth formed into a small 'o' of understanding as he explained it.

'And Snuffles would be able to come so long as no one gave him up to the Ministry! That would be wonderful Harry! Have you decided where you're going to go once you get off the train?'

He gestured for her to pass his notebook, flicking through it until he found the right page.

'I though I would go to this one first seeing as it's in the middle of London. It's not far from Diagon Alley...the goblins are going to come over and put it under the Fidelus charm for me so it's a bit more secure. I thought I'd use it as my base of operations for the summer.'

'1 Palace Green? Merlin Harry, you'd be living on the most expensive street in Britain!'

Harry, face flushed, that was his problem.

'Yeah, that's where I was wondering if I could ask a huge favour...'cause no ones lived there for so long, the floo was disconnected and there's an anti-portkey ward up along the whole street so I need to go in the muggle way and there's police checkpoints to get in... Gringotts aren't sure if I'll be able to just walk in and, I was wondering, if you and your parents would mind coming with me? I don't really want to confund anyone and bring the aurors down on me.'

'I don't think they'd mind...they've been asking about my friends every time I write to them. They'd be delighted to meet you at the very least...I'll ask them next week. How are you getting on with the spells I gave you?'

As Harry began describing the trouble he was facing with some of the more complicated charms Hermione had found, he felt her leaning into his shoulder. They fell asleep, propped up against each other, in the early hours of the morning.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: The next two chapters are fairly short, owing to the fact that I am one hella busy lady right now. However, I'm going to upload Chapter 8 more-or-less right away to make up for that. **

**I'd also just like to take half a moment to remind people that I spend my whole life staring at word documents. By the time I come to scan over chapters for posting, I'm going to miss the odd spelling/grammar mistake. It's the reason I write chapters so far in advance – so that I'm (hopefully) editing them with somewhat fresh eyes. **

**And I'd like to take a moment to remind everyone that fanfic is for fun. It's really great and lovely that so many of you read and enjoy this ridiculous little thing I'm doing here but if you're sitting there getting pissy about the odd mistake then, frankly, you're a right sad fuck. **

**But where would we be in life without sad fucks to give us a good laugh now and again? **

Chapter 7

April drifted quietly into May and Harry liked to think that, despite the threat of the third task hanging over his head, he was settling into his new routine quite nicely.

He would wake up early with Neville and go down to meet Hermione in the common room. The three of them would spend one day researching in the library until breakfast and another in an empty classroom practicing the spells they had chosen. Not only was he becoming more confident that he could face anything the tournament threw at him, he was breezing ahead in most of his classes. The only class he could claim to be failing miserably was Divination and that was largely due to the fact that he spent most of the double period catching up on his sleep.

That peace, however, was broken in the last Divination lesson of the month when Harry went from dozing peacefully in his chair to writhing in agony on the ground as his scar, which had been burning away a slow, easy to ignore pace since the holidays, burst into excruciating pain.

When he was shaken awake by Professor Trelawney, it took him a moment to get his bearings and her overpowering perfume left him wishing he could return to the vision of Voldemort torturing Wormtail.

He batted Trelawney away and excused himself to the Hospital Wing, hoping that Madam Pomfrey would be able to find him something to stop the world from spinning. He took the long way down, trying to stop his hands from shaking, and almost tripped over a pedestal as he glanced out of the windows into the early summer sunshine.

Righting himself, he turned to swear at the gargoyle he had tripped over and found that his absent-minded wandering had carried him to the Headmasters door. After Remus' thorough ear bashing, Dumbledore had barely been seen in the castle and it was a poorly contained secret that the staff were less than happy with his disappearance.

If he strained his ears, he could almost make out raised voices drifting down the stairs. Dumbledore might have been behind the manipulations that saw Harry dumped unceremoniously with his Aunt and Uncle but he was still the foremost expert on Voldemort in the world.

Frankly, he was the _only_ expert on Voldemort in the world and he was the only person Harry could think of that might have a chance of understanding what was happening to him.

It took him less than five minutes to guess the password and he narrowed his eyes disbelievingly at the gargoyle when it jumped aside at the mention of 'Mars Bars' before climbing up the narrow stair case.

He was hard pressed to catch more than the occasional word from through the thick wooden door but he was able to make out the voices of Dumbledore and Fudge shouting the odds at each other over something. Harry thought back to the rumours that had been circulating at breakfast of a body being found on the grounds and was just about to raise his hand to knock when another voice cut through the shouting.

'Headmaster! It would seem Mr Potter would like a word with you, shall I show the Minister here down to the forest?'

Dumbledore must have agreed because a few moments later, Professor Moody had pulled open the door and was showing Fudge out.

'Harry, my boy! What can I do to help? I wasn't aware that there were any free periods for fourth years today.'

Harry shuffled into the room, avoiding the pointed look being directed at him over the headmaster's glasses.

'There aren't...I was in Divination and...I was going to go to Madame Pomfrey but I thought you might know a little more...I collapsed, you see...and I _thin_kI had a vision about Voldemort.'

When Dumbledore flinched at the name, Harry looked up and was surprised to find him looking distinctly ill.

'...it wasn't just a dream, was it? That's why my scar hurts whenever he's around...there's a connection between us, isn't there?'

Dumbledore nodded gravely, busying himself with packing away a sturdy-looking stone bowl into a cupboard.

'I had feared as much...'

Harry dropped his bag on the floor and collapsed into one of the chairs opposite the desk.

'So not only did you leave me with the worst humans you could have found, you missed out the vital piece of information where I have a direct line to _the man who's trying to kill me!_'

'Harry I...'

'No way. I'm not finished. I would have been safer if you'd left me with the Malfoys! Then you shut down my parents will, leaving me with no idea who I was! I could have had a proper family this whole time!'

Harry was just about working up a good head of steam when there was a light knock on the door, throwing him off.

'Hermione was right, you're hiding something...I'm sorry I bothered you _sir_.'

He barely registered that he was pushing past the Minister when he left.

If Dumbledore was at one end of the scale where helpfulness was concerned, McGonagall was his polar opposite. It had taken her much longer than she had anticipated thanks to Lucius Malfoy blocking all of her attempts to contact the DMLE but she had finally managed to arrange for Amelia Bones to stop by the school under the pretence of collecting information about the so-called disappearance of Barty Crouch Snr.

She sat patiently in Professor McGonagall's office, watching from the window as a small, haphazard-looking group made its way towards the Quidditch pitch.

Harry had to break out into a steady jog to keep pace with Bagman and the other champions as they made their way across the grounds. They were heading out towards the stadium where Harry could just about make out people running around the pitch, looking busy.

As they got closer, he was able to pick out low, long hedges criss-crossing over the once immaculate grass. Just imagining the fit that Oliver Wood would be having come time for the Third Task brought a smile to Harry's face. Viktor and Cedric seemed to be thinking along the same lines as they exchanged a pained look over the state of the pitch.

'Oh this isn't going to be good...'

**Note: Barty Crouch Snr is dead by this point, as in canon. The reason that Harry had only heard rumours is down to the fact that Krum had no reason to ask for a private word with him as they are really becoming good friends by this point. Running by the calendar on the HP Lexicon (which I like to use to keep myself on a sensible track), I've pushed back the explanation of the third task by about a week. **

**My main reasons for this are that my Harry is a lot more aware of the world around him and, had he and Krum encountered Crouch in the forest, he would have been more determined to bring him to Dumbledore personally, thus revealing Voldemort's plot far too early. **

**Another thing I think is worth noting is that Harry is pretty clearly not willing to listen to Dumbledore's reasoning at this point in time kind of like oh, I don't know, every single 14 year old I know. Dumbledore has fucked up, yes, but Harry's not some flawless golden boy with knowledge beyond his age either and let's face it - it's a pretty stressful year for him. I'm hoping to be done and dusted with 4th year by Chapter 10 anyway so I can move onto some more interesting things. **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Okay, as promised – Chapter 8 straight up after Chapter 7. **

**It's easy to see just now that my plans of updating once a week are not going to be realistic until work dies down a bit. I simply don't have the time or the energy to write as much as I need to and I have no desire to continually post chapters that are as short as this. **

**This is the last chapter that I have fully written but I have my outlines finished up until Chapter 13 so what I'll do is post them as soon as they've been finished. **

**Sadly, I doubt that will be until next Friday (13****th****) if not later, it depends how much I can get done in the midst of moonlighting as a VHF Radio "expert" this weekend.**

**Alas, work is a bitch. **

Chapter 8

'Lord Potter, I'm sorry to catch you at such a late hour but I think this meeting has been delayed long enough.'

Madame Bones was, as far as Harry was concerned, nothing short of terrifying. Her iron-grey hair was cut short and left un-styled and her plain black robes gave little about her away. When Harry had first entered the room she had stood calmly and held out her hand, introducing herself.

Harry was thrown off until Professor McGonagall offered him a cup of tea and a biscuit. Accepting the cup from her with a small smile, he thought about what Hermione or Sirius would tell him to do in a situation like this, standing as straight as he could and making every attempt to rid himself of any nerves.

'Thank you so much for coming all the way out here...I don't know how much the professor had told you...'

Her smile was cold but not unkind.

'Minerva has appraised me of the details of the case, what I'm looking for from you is your opinion and to know how you would like to proceed in an ideal world.'

Harry thought for a moment, trying to weigh all of his options and gather his thoughts.

'Well...I'm not really sure what _can_ be done. Hermione's hate mail wasn't exactly signed and most of the people who started it are protected by their parents or the Ministry...I know Malfoy was probably involved, he can't avoid an opportunity to have a go at me or Hermione, but neither of us are sure what good it would do to take them to court.'

Madame Bones was scribbling furiously on her notepad.

'You're right, of course. The elder Mr Malfoy has the ear of the minister and would go out of his way to save his son and, by association, his friends. Charging _The Prophet_ with libel is the easiest option for you with the least potential for a troublesome backlash.'

Harry nodded along with her.

'What I would like to do, however, is open an investigation into the claims. I will bring in my Aurors on the day of the final task and conduct discreet interviews with everyone bar the champions and Miss Granger. Having their statements on file would allow us to look into this and any subsequent incidents at a later date...'

'And because you collected the information more-or-less at the time, it would still stand up in court!'

It was an excellent plan as far as Harry could see. It let him and Hermione focus on preparing for the final task and gave them a weapon against Malfoy and his gang of Slytherins should they try something else. Slapping the _Daily Prophet_ in the face was just an added bonus.

'Exactly. However, it _is_ late and I don't think it would do us any harm to put off the initial interviews until Saturday. I will send an official letter to all of you by breakfast tomorrow. Good evening, Lord Potter.'

'Madame Bones.'

The interviews were a novel experience to Harry. They all met in a small ante-chamber off of the Entrance Hall just before lunch where Madame Bones and two Aurors, one with eye-wateringly bright pink hair and another dark-skinned and bald with a golden earing, explained to them that they would be asking a standardised list of questions before asking them to sign a form stating that they understood what was about to happen and that they would answer each of the questions to the best of their ability.

Hermione hesitated for a moment, something that was not lost on Auror Shacklebolt, the man with the earring.

'Don't worry about being underage, Miss Granger, as you're not the one being investigated here we don't need your parents' permission for this, only your own consent.'

His voice was deep and calming and Hermione only nodded before adding her signature beneath Harry's.

Madame Bones then rolled up the form and ushered everyone but Hermione from the room so they could begin.

Standing in the Entrance Hall with Cedric and Viktor drew each of them a lot of attention from passing students as they made their way down to the Great Hall early. Professor Sprout even paused to chat with them for a good ten minutes before running off to change out of her muddy overalls. Filtch was along behind her soon after, glaring at the three boys as if they were to blame for the mud that had been tracked across the floor.

After Hermione left the room a half hour later, taking a deep breath to calm herself, Cedric and Viktor only took fifteen minutes and Harry only spent five in the stuffy little chamber. They read out Hermione's statement, asked him if there was anything he would like to add and if he would be willing to stand before the Wizengamot to testify should the case come to court.

When they were finally released for lunch, Hermione looked a million time lighter than she had since the Bubotuber pus incident.

'I can't _wait_ for summer!'

Lavender Brown, who was sitting opposite them, almost choked on her road parsnips at Hermione's unexpected outburst.

'Are you feeling okay, Hermione? I thought you loved school!?'

Hermione's smile was bright as she poured her dorm mate a glass of pumpkin juice and handed it over to her.

'Of course I do, but you have to admit that this year hasn't been the best."

Harry tuned out the rest of their conversation, staring off into the distance and hoping, rather desperately, that it wasn't going to get any worse.


End file.
